There are already known processes by which electronic waste is treated at deep temperature for the purpose to brittle plastic materials in order to facilitate their later comminution. In a follow-up process iron and non iron materials are separated from plastics by well known measures using magnets or high frequency sorting processes or by hand (E 196 00 647 A1). A disadvantage for such procedures and related machinery is that for comminution of electronic waste hammer-mills are used, which comminute such waste in a non-predictable way. That means that components containing noxious elements, such as mercury, capacitors and similar subjects so that noxious material may escape into atmosphere.
A similar process is described in the German publication DE 10 2004 041 494 A1. Composite material containing, pre-treated and partly destroyed mixture of stuff is handled in such process. Firstly in a rough comminution step a destruction of housings takes place followed by a sorting step by which so called disturbing material that contains noxious particles is separated. Further steps for separation of iron and non-iron materials and for stuff like a conglomerate of wires and similar subject follow. In continuation follow steps of fine sorting of metals and plastics. Even this process does not take into consideration the essence of this invention. In order to avoid escape of noxious particles into atmosphere even at the first destruction of a mixture of materials to be sorted not each kind of destruction of housings and surroundings can be chosen since they may contain contaminated components. Only a particular installation characterized by this invention can be used for the execution of the related step in this process. The essential of this invention is to spot this necessity.
Further processes are known to separate metal and plastics out from a conglomerate of a mixture of stuff by a flotation process. This process is for handling household waste where by the main aspect is a thermal disposal. Dressing of electronic waste, even of separating noxious elements from material components is not part of this disclosure. The main purpose of this disclosure is to separate non-inflammable material from inflammable one from household waste (DE 10 2005 017 334 A1).
In a further disclosure the target defined is to regain plastics from waste, however no means are indicated on how to achieve this goal. Solely to indicate that achieving of this goal should be by a flotation process or by a thermal one is not sufficient for executing that teaching by a person skilled in the art (DE 196 51 571 A1).
It is also known to use sensors, ultra violet radiation and other technology to identify and to determine plastics and metals according to their specific density and to separate them (DE 199 49 656 A1)
Hence, individual and combined measures are known to separate individual stuff components from a conglomerate of stuff in order to return them to re-usage in accordance with their individual character. However, all these measures comprise one essential deficit, which is to be seen in, when starting the process a mechanical comminution takes place and in consequence a destruction of the original material construction happens earlier to the removal of components containing noxious particles. Hence, noxious stuff may escape into the environment or the escape of such stuff is not even minimized. Such procedures do not meet any more legal regulations and hence, cannot anymore be accepted.
On the contrary a comminution that results in a destruction of construction elements that contain noxious particles is only allowed, in compliance with the existing legal regulations, once such construction elements were eliminated from a conglomerate of electronic waste. Such a selection of particular construction elements demands for a manual or by machine performed pre-sorting in a closed room, in order to enable sorting out of mercury-switches and similar noxious particles contained in construction elements. Therefore, known sites can only handle electronic waste that was earlier cleared from noxious material. Manual pre-sorting, without a comminution of housings, is not only inefficient and time consuming, but also demands for a high financial contribution.